Ganjam to be total banking district by March 2011

After achieving the distinction of having 100 per cent financial inclusion through opening of savings accounts, Ganjam district in south Orissa is now gearing up to achieve the status of a total banking district.

This means that the banking facilities will be provided to the remote unbanked and under-banked areas of the district within a year.

The Ganjam district administration has prepared a roadmap to provide banking facilities in unbanked and under-banked areas of the district by March 2011.

The matter was discussed at the recently held district consultative committee meeting and the district level review committee meeting on bank finances held at Chhatrapur. The district collector V Karthikeya Pandian presided over the meeting. It may be noted that the Government of India has stressed on providing banking services in every village having a population of over over 2000 and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked the banks to make arrangements to achieve the goal. As many as 261 villages have been identified in Ganjam as un-banked and under-banked villages and a roadmap has been prepared to provide banking services to all these villages through different banks by the end of 2010-11.

“The responsibility of providing banking services to these villages has been given to 12 different banks as per the service area concept”, said A K Pradhan, district lead bank manager of Andhra Bank.

The district consultative committee has asked the banks to provide the banking facilities in these villages either through a brick and mortar branch or through any form of Information Communication Technology (ICT) based models including Banking Correspondent (BC) or Banking Facilitators (BF) model.